along three primary dimensions: the degree
to which core values and practices are shared
throughout the corporation, the degree to
which core values are localized, and the existence of an ongoing multidirectional process
that reconciles core values with local realities. While there are no pure types, our
framework identifies four principal patterns
of global culture that characterize many
multinational companies: Spearhead, Outpost, Disoriented and Global.
Spearhead Culture. Some companies
have a set of core values and practices that
are well articulated and widely shared
within the corporate headquarters, whereas
employees of overseas subsidiaries share
these values weakly and are occasionally
unaware of them altogether. Corporate
headquarters is the dominant cultural force
and core values are not open to local adaptations; if any adaptations are made, they
are usually initiated by corporate headquarters and driven by frustration rather
than a genuine respect for local ways.
The Spearhead culture is not without
merit as it allows companies to run a tightly
controlled operation and quickly integrate
newly acquired businesses. However, the
mediation that should occur between the
global and local values is virtually nonexistent, with headquarters-centric values being
imposed throughout the organization. In
the long run, the Spearhead culture runs the
major risk associated with a centralized,
ethnocentric global company: charging
ahead with no one following behind.
Outpost Culture. In some global companies, which may battle the legacy of a
multidomestic past, there are islands of
strong culture in a sea of cultural fragmentation. These “outposts” are successful
subsidiaries led by highly effective local executives who create a strong culture at the
subsidiary level, based on their understandings of the company’s core values. But due to
the company-wide fragmentation and lack
of corporate leadership, there are no processes set up to share these subsidiaries’
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